Reclosable package



Nov. 16, 1965 w; s. SCHNEIDER ETAL 3,217,934

RECLOSABLE PACKAGE Filed April 5, 1963 7 MLLIHMS: Same/05 Ann/w? H CQRELM,

INVENTOR$..

Abram/5 United States Patent 3,217,934 RECLOSABLE PACKAGE William S. Schneider, 1765 Rohr Ave., Glendale, Calif., and Arthur P. Corella, 8166 Vanscoy Ave., North Hollywood, Calif.

Filed Apr. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 270,993 19 Claims. (Cl. 222107) The present invention relates generally to containers and packages made from flexible sheet materials which can be heat-sealed together, and more especially to packages of this character which are reclosable, permitting at least a portion of the contents to be temporarily stored within the package after it has been initially opened.

Many different types of products have been packaged in containers made from thin, flexible webs of various types of synthetic resins or plastics, making it possible to join together two opposed walls of the package by heatsealing operations. Packages of this kind have been economical to produce on high speed machinery and have found many applications. However, a problem that "in the past that has confronted the packaging industry has been the inability in many cases to reclose the package, after it has been initially opened, in such manner that it is reasonably well sealed against entry of external dirt and moisture or against the loss of its contents. This last is especially true if the contents are liquid.

The purpose of reclosing the package is to permit the contents to be used over a period of time, usually comparatively short, thus requiring that at least a portion of the contents -be stored temporarily in the original container. Such a container that is reclosable is generally termed a multi-use container as opposed to a unit-of-use container which holds only a small quantity of a product, all of which is normally emptied out of the container at one time. Packages made from such flexible films have been very popular because they can be produced for but a small fraction of the cost of rigid containers made entirely from cardboard, metal, or other relatively stiff or rigid materials which are often relatively expensive and difiicult to handle. Containers from flexible films or webs are generally of the flat or envelope type and because of the lack of inherent stiffness =or rigidity cannot stand up by themselves, it being necessary to rest them on one side. When such containers are not reclosable, they present a substantial problem of leakage or loss of liquid contents when lying on a side after the original package has been opened. The combination in one container of reclosability and the ability to stand up along with maximum use of flexible films is highly desirable from a practical viewpoint.

Hence, it is a general object of the invention to provide a novel package for different types of materials that uses economical film materials but reduces or eliminates the disadvantages of many prior packages made from the same films, producing for example a novel package made from thin sheet stock that can be reclosed after initially being opened.

It is another object of the invention to provide a package of this character which can be made with one or more product containing compartments and which also may include sheet stock sufficiently stiff that the package can stand up on one end.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a container of this character that can be adapted to hold liquids as well as dry or solid products.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container of this character that requires only two large sheets as compared with three or more full size sheets in some known designs, and also that can be manufactured from films which are heat-sealing on one side only, thus 3,217,934 Patented Nov. 16, 1965 using similar material throughout. Webs heat-healing on only one side are more economical than those that are heat-sealing on two sides, the latter webs being required in some previously known designs of reclosable packages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel package of this character that is adapted to easy manufacture and to simultaneous register of printing or designs on the front and back walls and which at the same time provides for reclosing the package in such a manner as not to mar the art work or the appearance of the original package.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel design of a package of the above character that can be produced on known types of form-and-fill packaging machinery with comparative ease and with a minimum modification or retooling of known types of machines.

The above objects are achieved according to the present invention by providing a reclosable package comprising two opposing walls of similar size and shape joined together by means including heat-sealed areas, to define an interior product holding space, the heat-sealed areas forming between the two walls a discharge channel leading to one edge of the package, the package being of lesser width at the exit end of the discharge channel than at the product holding space; a quantity of product in said product holding space; one of said two walls having a slit cut therein at a position to receive and hold a portion of the package at the exit end of the discharge channel when the package is folded over along a line extending transversely of the channel and said folded portion is inserted in the slit; and means applied to the inner face of said one wall closing said slit to access by the product. In an illustrative form of the invention, the last mentioned means is a piece of film heat-sealed to the inner face of said one wall over areas which surround and are spaced from the slit at at least one edge thereof in order to receive the folded portion of the package between the inner face of said one wall and the added piece of film.

How the above objects of the present invention, as well as others not specifically referred to herein, are attained will be more readily understood by reference to the following description and to the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a typical form of reclosable package embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof, with a portion of the package removed to open the discharge channel.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudial transverse section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation thereof with a portion of the package containing the discharge channel folded over and the end of said portion tucked into the slit in one wall to close the channel.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a variational form of reclosable package embodying the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing a further modification of the invention embodied in a dual compartment reclosable package.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective of a still further form of dual compartment package embodying the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4, there is illustrated therein the presently preferred form of the invention. This particular form of the invention shows the application of the invention to a widely used form of package embodying two separate front and back walls which typically are made from a single web slit longitudinally to form two separate continuous webs fed into automatic machinery designed to form and fill the package in a single operation. Slitting a single web is preferred as it insures registration of indicia on front and back walls. Of course, two initially separate webs may be used to form the package.

The package, indicated generally at 10, has two opposed mutually overlying walls 11 and 12 between which is the product containing space 14. Walls 11 and 12 may be webs that are heat-sealing on one side only and the sealing sides are the inner opposed faces of the two walls. In this form of package, the two walls are joined together at their margins by heat-sealed areas which extend completely around the periphery of the package and product containing space 14. In its broadest aspects, the invention is not limited to this specific disposition of the heat-sealed areas, but this is a type of construction of the package that permits the package to be made from two continuous webs on high speed form-and-fill machinery. Product containing space 14 may contain any one of a number of products, indicated at 16, such products including powder, tablets, liquids, or semi-liquid pastes and the like.

From FIG. 1 it will be noticed that portions of the heat-sealed areas at one end of the package, indicated at 15a, converge toward one end edge of the package to form within the package a discharge channel which at its base or broad end communicates freely with the product holding space 14 and tapers to a lesser width toward one edge of the package. The reasons for this construction will become apparent. The package may, for example, be made originally as a rectangle and portions of the sealed areas cut or torn off to produce the tapered portion just described.

At each of the two corners having the sealed areas 15a, there is a line of weakness 21 extending across the sealed area to define a line along which the package may be torn .to remove the end of the package and thus form at one edge of the package an exit opening from the discharge channel as at 23 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The line of weakness may be established by any suitable means, as for example a row of closely spaced perforations, by scoring the walls, or otherwise. If the line of weakness is formed by perforations, it is limited to the sealed areas and does not extend across the end of the discharge channel.

As a result of a typical process of forming and filling the package, the heat-sealed areas 15 extend all the way around the four sides of the package and channel 20 is closed at the exit end in order to hermetically seal the contents within the package. By tearing along line 21 a portion of the package can be removed manually to provide the discharge opening 23 at the small end of the discharge channel, permitting the product 16 to be discharged through the opening.

If, after a portion of the contents is removed from the package, it is desired to reclose the package in order to permit storage of the remainder of the contents in the package for a period of time, the package is then folded over along some line at or in the vicinity of the line indicated at 25 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Line 25 extends transversely of the axis of the pouring channel and is located near the base of pouring channel 20 in the vicinity of its junction with product holding space 14. Actually, fold line 25 may cross either the channel itself or the product containing space 14 at some point above the level of product 16 and be equally effective.

One of the package walls is provided with a transversely extending slit 26 into which the end of the tongue containing discharge channel 20 may be tucked, as shown in FIG. 4. The slit may be placed in either of the two package walls but for purposes of illustration it is here shown as being in wall 11. This wall 11 and slit 26 provide means to receive and hold the folded-over portion of the package at the exit end 23 of discharge channel 20 when the package is folded over along the line 25, the fold in the package along line 25 being effective to close the pouring chan- 4 nel and to inhibit access thereto of the product in space 14.

Means applied to the inner face of wall 11 for closing slit 26 to access thereto by the product comprises a band or strip 28 of material which is preferably heat-sealing on two opposite faces. Strip 28 extends across the full width of the package and thus has its ends sealed to both walls 11 and 12 at the longitudinal side seals 15 around the perimeter of the completed package 10. However, the width of strip 28 is much less than the longitudinal dimensions of the package so that the strip is of lesser area than either wall 11 or 12.

In addition, strip 28 is sealed to wall 11 only by two transverse seals 29 and 30 which are near the upper and lower transverse edges respectively of the strip. Seal 31 is spaced from slit 26 a sufiicient distance that the tongue of the package can be adequately retained within the pocket on the inside of wall 11 formed between the wall and strip 28. This distance from the receiving slot to the heat-seal can thus vary with the size and nature of the package. The other transverse heat-seal 29 is relatively closer to slit 26 and may be at any distance desired from the slit. The horizontal length of slit 26 is limited, of course, by the distance between the heat-sealed areas 15 at opposite longitudinal edges of the package and is preferably somewhat less than this maximum distance but is long enough as a minimum to receive a portion of the package, as shown in FIG. 4, adequate to hold the discharge end of pouring channel 20 tucked into the slit.

This construction for the tongue receiving slit and the means for closing the slit to access by the contents of the package, is preferred because of the ease wit-h which the package may be made. In a typical form-and-fill type of package making machine two separate webs are fed in, moving longitudinally. Web movement is typically vertical and longitudinal of the package as viewed in FIG. 1. In certain horizontal machines the web moves in a direction transverse of the finished package. One of the webs, web 11, passes a slitting station at which successive slits 26 are cut in the web at proper intervals to appear one on each of the successive packages completed.

At the slitting station in said typical machine, or at a subsequent station, the band 28 is fed either horizontally or vertically into contact with the web and is attached to web 11 by placing the parallel transverse seals 29 and 30. With the strip 38 in place, web 11 is advanced to bring it into mutually overlying relationship with web 12 after which the two webs are processed in the machine to seal the webs together in the same manner as they would have been for a package without the slit and slit-closing means. In a horizontal form-and-fill machine, the band 28 may be fed in parallel to the direction of web movement and attached to the web after the slits are cut.

The foregoing describes a package made from two webs. However, some types of machines make a package from a single web without slitting the web but by folding, with the result that the two opposing walls of the package are integral with each other along one edge of the completed package. FIG. 6 illustrates a package of that type. In FIG. 6, package 10a, of which the two opposing walls 11a and 12a are integrally joined along one edge 32, is formed from a single web, heat sealing on one side, which is folded longitudinally at 32 to bring the sealing faces into opposing relation on the inside of the package. The fold is not limited to a side position as in some horizontal machines the fold occurs at the bottom of the package.

The two walls 11a and 12a are then joined by heatsealed area 33 extending in part along the opposite longitudinal edge. Heat-sealed area 33 is extended around the package to meet fold 32 to close the bottom and top of the package in a manner similar to area 15, which will be understood by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and therefore is not illustrated in FIG. 6. The heat-sealed areas 33 together with the fold at 32 are means joining the two walls of the package together around the entire periphery of the product containing space inside the package.

In one wall, here 11a, there is cut a slit 34 which is designed to receive the portion of the package containing the end of the discharge channel when that portion is folded over and tucked into the slit, as will be understood from the foregoing description. In order to close slit 34 to access by the product 16 within the package, there is applied to the inner face of wall 11a a piece of film 35 which may be of material similar to that from which Wall 11a is made. This piece 35 is applied to wall 11a like a patch and is essentially similar to the strip 28 except that it is fastened on one wall only of the package by heat seals and does not extend into the marginal seal 33 by which the two walls 11a and 12a are joined together. Patch 35 is preferably of material heat-sealing on one side only.

These heat seals applied to patch 35 include one transverse seal 30a which, as before, is spaced from slit 34 at one side thereof in order to provide a pocket between wall 11a and patch 35 into which the end of the tongue containing the discharge channel may be tucked. At the other side of slit 34 is another transverse seal 29a which is usually relatively closer to slit 34 to conserve material. The two side or longitudinally extending heat-seals 36 are placed within the boundaries of patch 35 but beyond the ends of slit 34. Together the four heat-seals entirely surround slit 34 and thus shut ofl any access to the slit by product within the package. These four heatsealed areas are arranged in the shape of an open rectangle, but other shapes as an oval, triangle, or the like can serve equally well under some circumstances.

This package can be constructed by a sequence of operations essentially similar to that described in connection with the form of package illustrated in FIG. 1. The web moving longitudinally through the forming machine stops at a station where slit 34 is cut, successive slits being cut at positions along the web spaced so that one slit appears at the proper position on each completed package. Either at the slitting station, or after movement to another station spaced therefrom, the piece of material 35 is applied and heat-sealed to the inner face of the web to hold the patch in position. After this, the web is then moved on through the normal sequence of stations to wrap the web around a mandrel, and effect the remaining heat-seals 33 which complete the package, the package being filled with product 16 at a suitable stage during placement of seals and before the final seals are placed.

It will be realized that in the broader aspects of the present invention, it is not necessarily limited to the specific forms of package so far described. Other forms of packages are described in our co-pending application, Serial Number 204,170, filed June 21, 1962, on Reclosable Package to which the application of the present invention will be apparent without detailed description herein and by reference to said co-pending application.

As an example of a further modification of the present invention, there is shown in FIG. 7 a two-compartment package which may be described as essentially like the package illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 with the addition of a median wall between and coextensive with walls 11 and 12 and dividing the product containing space 14 into two substantially equal portions. Such a median wall is indicated at 40 in FIG. 7 producing a packag b having two product containing spaces 14a and 1411 located one at each side of median wall 40 between it and an outer wall 11b or 12b. Slit 26 is placed as before in outer wall 11b of the package to receive the folded-over portion of the package containing the exit end of the discharge channels, there being two such channels separated by the median wall because the construction of the package provides one channel for each of the spaces 14a and 14b. Both discharge channels: extend toward the same edge of the package, they are both opened simultaneously by removing a portion of the package along the tear line, and are both closed by folding the package along a line as at 25. Additional details of construction may be found by reference to our said copending application.

FIG. 8 shows a further modification of the present invention embodied in a different type of two-compartment package that may be considered as two of the packages shown in FIGS. 1-3 arranged side-by-side. The total package is made as a single unit as the equivalent of two smaller packages integral with each other along part of one side. Together, the two smaller packages form a single package having two product holding compartments side-by-side with two separate discharge channels sideby-side. One wall is made of stock having a moderate degree of stiffness, while the other wall 11c is of more flexible film, such as cellulose acetate film that is limp and unable to retain any given shape of the package. The two walls are joined together by marginal heat-sealed areas 15c and a central heat-sealed area 42 separating the two product containing compartments. Each product containing compartment communicates with a tapered discharge channel 200 closed at its outer or exit end by a removable portion 15d of the marginal heat-sealed areas 150.

The wall 110 has two slits 46, each in a position where it can receive and hold a tongue containing a discharge channel 200. Before folding over, the tongue extends away from the product containing interior space as at the left hand side of the package in FIG. 8, and when folded over and inserted in a slit 46 the tongue appears as at the right hand side of FIG. 8. Thus, each discharge channel may be closed individually as desired. A single band 48 extending across the entire package may close off both slits to access by the respective products in the package. The band is embedded in the heatsealed areas and 42, according to the construction of FIG. 1, using a material that is heat-sealing on two sides. An alternative construction is that of the patches as shown at 35 in FIG. 5, there being one such patch at each slit 46. These may be of material heat-sealing on one side only.

The package of FIG. 8 may be folded centrally bringing the two compartments together face-to-face for carrying. It may also be opened with the two compartments angularly disposed as shown in FIG. 8 to form a V-shaped base. This shape of base combined with the stiffness of one wall enables the package to stand upright when resting on one end as shown. This feature is of advantage for storage and display purposes as well as keeping the open ends of the discharge channels above the level of product in the package.

The novel construction of our present: invention produces various forms of a reclosable package having several significant advantages over known prior designs of similar styles in packages. One of the important advantages of the present invention is a saving in materials. It will be appreciated that the package can be made using only two sheets which are the full size of the completed package instead of three full size sheets as in some prior designs. This is because by placing the piece of material covering the slit on the inside of the package this piece of material is no more than a band which is considerably smaller in one dimension than the outer walls of the package. The size of even this piece of material may be reduced by not extending it into the side seals, in which case it is smaller than both dimensions of the outer walls of the package.

Another advantage of the present construction is that the packages can be made from materials of minimum cost since materials that are heat-sealing on one side only may be used throughout. Materials heat sealing on both sides are more expensive, but if used such material can be limited to the kind covering the slit. In either construction there are no surfaces having heat-sealing character that are exposed to contact with the sealing heads.

A further advantage of packages discussed above is that they are adapted to many known types of form-and-fill packaging machines, feeding either one web or two entirely separate webs. In either case it is possible to obtain registration of indicia on one or both walls of the package.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that various changes and modifications of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is considered as being illustrative of, rather than limitative upon, the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A reclosable package comprising:

two flexible walls of similar size and shape joined together by means including heat-sealed areas to define an interior product holding space,

the heat-sealed areas also forming between the walls a discharge channel communicating with the product holding space and terminating at its exit end near one edge of the package, the package and the discharge channel each being of lesser Width at said exit end of the channel than at the product holding space;

a quantity of product in said space;

one of said walls having a slit therein at a position to receive and hold a portion of the package containing the full width of the discharge channel with the exit end of the discharge channel entirely within said one wall when the package is folded over along a line extending transversely of the channel and said portion is inserted into the slit;

and means applied to the inner face of said one wall isolating said slit from access by the product inside the package.

2. A reclosable package package as in claim 1 in which the last mentioned means is a flexible strip sealed to the inner face of said one wall at areas surrounding the slit in said one wall and spaced therefrom along at least one side of the slit.

3. A reclosable package as in claim 1 in which the last mentioned means is a flexible strip of material having its ends embedded in marginal heat-sealed areas joining said two Walls and also sealed to the inner face of said one wall at areas extending across the package between said marginal heat-sealed areas.

4. A reclosable package as in claim 1 in which the two walls are each of sheet material heat-sealing on the inner face only and the last mentioned means is a strip of material heat-sealing on two sides.

5. A reclosable package as in claim 1 in which the two walls are each of sheet material heat-sealing on the inner face only and the last mentioned means is a strip of material heat-sealing on one side only.

6. A reclosable package as in claim 1 in which the last mentioned means is a flexible strip sealed to the inner face of said one wall at areas surrounding the slit in the one wall, said strip being smaller in at least one dimension and of lesser area than said one wall.

7. A reclosable package comprising:

three walls of similar size and shape overlying one another and joined together by means including heatsealed areas to define an interior product holding space at each side of the center one of the three walls,

said heat-sealed areas also forming between the central wall and each outside wall a discharge channel communicating with a product holding space and leading to one edge of the package;

a quantity of product in each product holding space;

one of the outer Walls having a slit cut therein at a position to receive and hold a portion of the package containing the full width of the discharge channels with the exit ends of both discharge channels entirely inside said one wall when the package is folded over along a line extending transversely of the channels and said portion is inserted into the slit;

and means applied to the inner face of said one wall to isolate said slit from access thereto by product in the adjoining product holding space.

8. A reclosable package as in claim 7 in which the last mentioned means is a flexible strip sealed to the inner face of said one wall at areas surrounding the slit in said one wall and spaced therefrom along at least one side of the slit.

9. A reclosable package comprising:

two flexible walls of similar size and shape joined together by means including heat-sealed areas to define two interior product holding spaces in side-by-side relation,

the heat-sealed areas forming between the walls a pair of discharge channels communicating with the respective product holding spaces and terminating at the exit ends near one edge of the package, the package having a tongue portion of lesser width at said exit end of each channel than the associated product holding space;

a quantity of product in each of said spaces;

one of said walls having a pair of slits therein at positions to enable each slit to receive and hold the tongue portion of the package at the exit end of one discharge channel when the portion is folded over along a line extending transversely of said one channel and said portion is inserted into said slit;

and means applied to the inner face of said one Wall isolating each of said slits from access by the product inside the package.

10. A reclosable container comprising:

two flexible outer walls of similar size and shape joined together to define an interior space, and a discharge channel communicating at one end with said interior space and terminating at the other end at one edge of the container,

said discharge channel being narrower than the interior space and passing through a portion of the container that is at least in part narrower than the container at the location of the interior space;

one of said outer walls having a slit therein extending transversely of the container;

and a flexible strip sealed to the inner face of said one wall at areas surrounding the slit in said one wall but spaced therefrom at at least one edge of the slit to isolate the slit from the interior space;

said container, when folded over once along a line substantially parallel to said slit and extending across the container, having said portion thereof containing the full Width of the discharge channel disposed to be inserted into said slit to hold the discharge channel closed.

11. A reclosable container comprising:

two flexible outer walls heat sealed together at marginal areas to define an interior space, and a discharge channel extending from said space to one edge of the container,

said channel being narrower than the interior space and extending through a tapered tongue portion of the container that is at least in part narrower than the container at the location of said interior space;

one of said walls having a slit therein extending transversely of the container between two sealed marginal areas at opposite edges of the container;

and a flexible strip of heat scalable material extending across the container with its ends embedded in said two marginal sealed areas and the strip also being 9 sealed to said one wall at opposite sides of the slit to isolate the slit from the interior space;

said container, when folded over along a line substantially parallel to the slit, having the tongue portion containing the full Width of the channel disposed to be inserted in the slit to hold the discharge channel closed at the fold.

12. A reclosable container as in claim 11 in which the slit is located closer to the fold than to the other end of the container.

13. The method of making flexible, reclosable packages from a continuous web of thin flexible material that includes the steps of:

cutting slits in the Web in a row extending longitudinally of the web and at predetermined intervals;

bringing into position over each slit in succession a continuous strip of flexible material;

attaching the strip of material to one face of the web by heat-sealed areas to surround in succession each slit;

subsequently forming a filled package having at least one outer Wall provided by said continuous web with a piece of the strip on the inner face thereof and the slit accessible from the exterior of the package;

and severing the package from the following web and strip.

14. The method of making a flexible, reclosable package as in claim 13 that also includes:

trimming one end of the package to form a tapered portion receivable in the package slit;

and tucking the tapered portion into the slit.

15. The method of making flexible, reclosable packages from a continuous web of thin, flexible material heat sealable on one side that includes the steps of:

cutting slits in the Web along a line longitudinal of the web and at predetermined intervals determined by one dimension of the packages to be made;

bringing into position over each slit in succession a continuous strip of flexible material heat sealable on both sides;

attaching the strip of material to one face of the web by heat-sealed areas at opposite sides of each slit covered by the strip;

bringing said web into overlying relation to a second continuous web with the strip of material between the webs;

forming and filling a package by operations that include heat-sealing together the two webs at marginal areas into which said strip of material extends to be sealed therein to both webs, and forming a discharge channel narrower than the remaining interior space;

and finally tucking into said slit a portion of the pack age containing the full width of the discharge channel.

16. The method of making flexible, reclosable packages from a single continuous Web of thin, flexible material that includes the steps of:

feeding the web flat in a substantially horizontal direction;

cutting slits in the web at predetermined intervals along a line parallel to the direction of web travel;

feeding in a continuous band of flexible material in a direction parallel to web movement and sealing it to the web at areas su-rrounding each slit;

folding the web longitudinally to bring the band between opposed Walls;

forming a filled package from the folded web by operations including sealing the opposed walls together at intervals spaced apart in the direction of Web movement;

and severing the filled package from the web and simultaneously severing the section of the Web inside the package.

17. The method of making flexible, reclosable packages from a continuous web of thin, flexible material heat sealable on one side, that includes the steps of:

feeding the web along a generally straight path;

cutting slits in the web in a row extending parallel to the direction of web travel and at predetermined i11- t-ervals;

placing over each slit in succession a continuous strip of material heat sealable on at least one side and heat sealing the strip to said heat sealable side of the web at areas on two sides of the slits;

folding the web along a longitudinal median line to bring into opposing relation two halves of the web with the heat sealable face inside;

sealing the walls together at spaced intervals by heat sealed areas elongated in a direction normal to the direction of web travel and located between successive slits to form successive packages; filling and sealing the packages to form a discharge channel leading toward one edge and narrower than the remaining interior space of the package; and

severing the package from the web and trimming a portion of the package containing the full width of the discharge channel to a width to be received in the slit.

18. The method of making a flexible, reclosable package as in claim 17 that also includes:

tucking into the slit in the package the trimmed portion of the package containing the full width of the discharge channel.

19. The method of making flexible, reclosable packages from a continuous web of thin, flexible material heat sealable on one side, that includes the steps of:

feeding the web along a generally straight path;

cutting slits in the web in a row extending parallel to the direction of web travel and at predetermined intervals;

placing over each slit in succession a continuous strip of material heat sealable on at least one side and heat sealing the strip to said heat sealable side of the web at areas on two sides of the slits;

slitting the web longitudinally along a median line to form two separate halves and bringing the two halves into opposed relation with the heat sealable sides face-to-face;

sealing the two halves of the web along one edge of the web and also at spaced intervals at areas elongated in a direction normal to the direction of web travel and located between successive slits to form successive packages;

filling and sealing the packages to form a discharge channel leading toward one edge and narrower than the remaining interior space of the package;

and severing the package from the web and trimming a portion of the package containing the full width of the discharge channel to a Width to be received in the slit.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 43 2,308 7/1890 Guilbert 229-62 1,182,449 5/ 1916 Booth -7 2,146,514 2/ 1939 Rosenberg.

2,333,587 11/1943 Salfishberg 229-62 2,407,415 9/1946 Graziano 206-41.] 2,793,743 5/ 1957 Lefebvre 229-62 2,833,400 5/1958 Lefebvre et al 206-56 2,942,760 6/ 1960 Schneider.

2,988,261 6/1961 Keating 229-38 3,063,614 11/1962 Orsini 229-55 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,043,930 11/1958 Germany.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, GEORGE 0. RALSTON,

Examiners. 

1. A RECLOSABLE PACKAGE COMPRISING: TWO FLEXIBLE WALLS OF SIMILAR SIZE AND SHAPE JOINED TOGETHER BY MEANS INCLUDING HEAT-SEALED AREAS TO DEFINE AN INTERIOR PRODUCT HOLDING SPACE, THE HEAT-SEALED AREAS ALSO FORMING BETWEEN THE WALLS A DISCHARGE CHANNEL COMMUNICATING WITH THE PRODUCT HOLDING SPACE AND TERMINATING AT ITS EXIT END NEAR ONE EDGE OF THE PACKAGE, THE PACKAGE AND THE DISCHARGE CHANNEL EACH BEING OF LESSER WIDTH AT SAID EXIT END OF THE CHANNEL THAN AT THE PRODUCT HOLDING SPACE; A QUANTITY OF PRODUCT IN SAID SPACE; ONE OF SAID WALLS HAVING A SLIT THEREIN AT A POSITION TO RECEIVE AND HOLD A PORTION OF THE PACKAGE CONTAINING THE FULL WIDTH OF THE DISCHARGE CHANNEL WITH THE EXIT END OF THE DISCHARGE CHANNEL ENTIRELY WITHIN SAID ONE WALL WHEN THE PACKAGE IS FOLDED OVER ALONG A 